Robert Halpin - The Great Eastern

The Great Eastern

Launched at the Isle of Dogs, Kent, 31 January 1858, she was 693 feet in length (over 200 metres) 22,500 tons dead weight and had passenger accommodation for over 3000 passengers. Five times larger than any other ship then built, she had six masts named Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc..., five funnels, 6500 yards of sail, two 58 ft paddle wheels, a 24 ft screw (which remains the biggest ever built) and a coal carrying capacity of 15000 tons.

The Great Eastern had a career dogged by misfortune. The Great Eastern was made ready for her maiden voyage to the United States. She was designed for the longer Britain to Australia run and proved uneconomical on the shorter Atlantic routes. She left Southampton, 16 June 1860, with 418 crew but only 35 paying passengers including one carrying an English fighting cock and three hens in wicker cages for a chicken fighter in California. On 28 June the ship docked successfully completing her maiden voyage. Never filled to capacity and losing money, the vessel was sold from company to company and in 1867 was chartered by a French syndicate to bring American visitors to the Paris World Exhibition. She attracted only 191 passengers including Jules Verne who later wrote a book about her called "A Floating City".